The tie in the RL pic looks as silly as one of those ultra narrow Pee Wee Herman numbers....narrowish ties aren't bad per se eg knits but you have to be selectve.....but anything over 3.5" is moving into no no land in my book

There's always room for some variation. That said, variation is best between 3.5" to 2". Slim and skinny suits might be the current fashion trend, but there will always be a place for a well fitted slim suit. It's best not to get carried away in either direction.

I think as the Trad & Prep pendulum continues to swing to the right your probably going to see a return to a wider tie width. This is not a bad thing because I think the whole "skinny tie" thing presented itself a bit elitist and phony at times. There is such a thing as too wide though. L.A.S, I'd think you'd be all over this since your favorite designer's designer Mr.McNairy seems to prefer them on the wider side :). Good topic to hash out for sure. Thanks.

Tie width should always be proportional to lapel width. I did the skinny tie thing the last time around in the 80s, when I was in high school. I skipped it this time, preferring to hang on to my "wide" ties from the 90s. They ranged anywhere from 3.5 to 4 inches wide, but again, they look proportional to the lapels on my coats.

The RL outfit pictured references a more early 70s cut. Not really digging their spring stuff--saw a western RL suit advertised in a recent GQ.

Most men will look best with a tie that is 3.25" wide, plus or minus .25". Very tall men and very wide men can, and should, wear wider ties. Only slim men under 30 look good in a tie less than 3" wide, unless it's what everyone is wearing (like when narrow ties & lapels were the fashion in the 60s).